Refrigerating process and apparatus



.M A. W 1

Jan. 6, 1931. R. w. DAVENPORT REFRIGERATING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed May '7, 1927 4 E 4 q w H w /M/. a e M i d INVENTOR. Ransom W flm mparr I ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 6, 1931 OUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RANSOM W. DAVENPORT, F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB T0 CHICAGO PNEUMATIC @0014 COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY REFRIGEBATING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Application filed May '7, 1927. Serial No. 189,471.

This invention relates to refrigeration generally, and in particular to that branch of the art which is concerned with outfits intended for domestic use. The invention comprises both a process and apparatus for practicing the process.

In refrigerating outfits of the domestic .type, as heretofore used for preserving food and for freezing liquids, it has been customary with the conventional or reversed Clausius-Rankine cycle systems to absorb heat both for refrigeration and for ice making at the same low temperature. The usual practice has been to dispose the ice trays or other liquid containers in a chamber formed within the evaporator member itself so that the evaporator element withdraws heat on its inner face from the water to be frozen and on its outer face from the food chamber, thus utilizing both radiation and convection in the absorption of heat.

With refrigerating systems operating on the vapor-gas principle, disclosed in my Patent No. 1,619,196, issued March 1st, 1927, it has been proposed to separate the freezing compartment entirely from the refrigerating compartment and with two independent transfers of heat, after the manner disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 105,372, filed April 29th, 1926. The evaporators disclosed in the last named application differ from many of the conventional evaporators in providing substantially plain and easily cleaned sanitary surfaces.

One object of the present invention is to provide improved ways and means for effecting refrigeration while making ice. Another object is to provide a domestic outfit having improved ways and means for taking up heat simultaneously from liquid to be frozen and from food to be preserved. An

other object is to make ice fast and to simplify and cheapen the refrigerator and apparatus structure. Other objects will be apparent from the detailed description which follows. w

The present invention differs from the conventional apparatus inwhich heat is withdrawn from the liquid to be frozen and from the food to be preserved by radiation and convection at the same low temperature, and differs also from previously disclosed arrangements for transferring heat independently from liquid and from food. It involves ways and means for transferring the heat first from the food to the liquid (or ice) and then from the liquid (or ice) to the evaporator. This is accomplished by placing an evaporator in the food compartment and then surrounding or enclosing the evaporator by the containers for the liquid to be frozen. A preferred arrangement consists in disposing the evaporator against a wall of the food chamber and providing an enclosure or casing for the evaporator having means for supporting the ice trays adjacent the evaporator. Thecasing is made removable to permit the evaporator element to be cleaned when desired and may befurther arranged to support the shelves in the food compartment. The evaporator may be of the thin fiat type disposed vertically on the side Wall or inner partition of the refrigerator and the support for the ice trays may hang along side the evaporator with the ice trays one above the other immediately adjacent the evaporator. The support for the ice trays may be mounted in such away that it can be swung away leaving the surface of the evaporator element accessible for cleaning.

In order to illustrate the invention one concrete embodiment thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view substantially on the line 11 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a tpansverse vertical sectional view substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 with the shelves removed from the food compartment;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the food chamber with the hinged casing supporting the ice trays swung partly open to give access to the evaporator.

The embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose of illustration comprises a self-contained mechanically operated refrigerating cabinet A designed for domestic use. This cabinet has a refrigerating or food storage chamber B and apparatus compartment C. An evaporator element 4 containing a volatile refrigerant-is disposed in chamher B and suitable means of any desired type are provided for causing the refrigerant to vaporize so as to extract heat from Chamber B. The apparatus means may comprise a machine unit D disposed in compartment C consisting of a pump or compressor d, con.- denser d and a prime mover such as asmall electric motor (Z arranged to drive pump d and to extract heat from condenser d through the operation of a fan (i Pump 03 charges same at higher temperature and pressure through a pipe 6' into condenser d whence the condensed refrigerant fluid is fed back through connection 6 and feeding device or expansion valve 63 to evaporator 4. The apparatus herein shown forms a closed circuit for the refrigerant and may operate either on the conventional reversed Clausius- Rankine cycle or on the vapor-gas principle disclosed in my Patent No. 1,619,196, issued March 1, 1927.

The evaporator 4 disposed in chamber B is utilized-both to freeze liquid and to cool the chamber to proper refrigerating temperatureby a novel. arrangement now to be described. Evaporator 4 is of extended type disposed against a wall of the chamber and may serve as a part of the lining for the chamber after the manner disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 105,372, filed April 29th, 1926. By preference the evaporator is disposed vertically within chamber Bin order to secure the best results in air circulation. While it may form a central partition within the chamber, it is shown in the accfimpanying drawings flat against a side wa I The freezing of the liquid is accomplished by suspending in any suitable manner containers for the liquid, such as ice trays 5, immediately adjacent evaporator 4 between the latter and the storage space for food. One arrangement is to provide an enclosure for evaporator'4 such as a casing 6 which serves as a bafile, and has suitable means, such as shelves '7, upon which the trays 5 may be placed. The casing is arranged with an open end toward the front or door opening of chamber B to facilitate the removal and in sertion of trays 5. The outer face of easing 6 may be provided with supports, such as hooks 8, for the shelves or racks 9 of the food chamber.

For sanitary reasons, it is desirable that evaporator 4 shall be accessible for cleaning. To this end casing 6 is arranged to be removable. A preferred arrangement is to piv- 'ot one edge of easing 6 to the wall of chamber. B, as by hinges 10, so that on removal of racks 9 the casing 6 may be swung away from evaporator 4 as shown in Fig. 3 to perunit evaporator 4 to be cleaned. In this way both the inner and outer surfaces of the casing 6 are also readily accessible for cleaning. When the racks 9 are in place, the casing 6 is maintained in proper enclosing relation with evaporator 4. In order that casing 6 may support the weight of articles placed on. racks 9, a support such as ledgell may be provided upon the'wall of the chamber beneath evaporator 4 in a position to receive upon its upper surface the lower edge of easing 6. q

With the disclosed arrangement, it isapparent that the liquid disposed in containers or trays 5 is cooled first and not until ice is formed and the outer surfaces of the ice trays are below freezing does the food chamber begin to cool rapidly. This is due to the fact that heat. is extracted from the contents of the chamber formed immediately adjacent evaporator4 by casing 6 both by radiation and convection and from the larger food storage chamber B only by convection through casing 6 and its contents, In'other words the food sees the ice trays rather than the evaporator and heat from the food is taken up by the evaporator indirectly through the ice trays. Conversely the food chamberremains cool until the ice is warmed up to the melting point. Thus a novel cycle of conditions totally different from that obtained in conventional systems is effected by the present invention.

While the present invention in both its process and apparatus aspects is disclosedtails thereof, but covers all changes, modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1-. The combinationwith a chamber for perishable articles, of means for extracting heat from said chamber comprising an evaporator adjacent a vertical wall thereof, and movable means for disposing containers for liquid to be frozen adjacent the exposed face of said evaporator to effect absorption of heat directly from the liquid and indirectly from the chamber through the liquid and the containers therefor. 2. The combination with a chamber for perishable articles, of means for extracting heat from said chamber comprising an evaporator, and enclosure for said evaporator forming a baflle, and means for supporting containers for liquid to be frozen within said enclosure.

3. The combination with a chamber for perishable articles, of means for extracting heat from said chamber comprising an evaporator, a removable enclosure for said evaporator forming a battle, and means within said enclosure for supporting ice trays adjacent said evaporator.

.means for removably supporting containers for liquid to be frozen adjacent said evaporator.

5. A refrigerator cabinet having a chamber, means for extracting heat from said chamber including an evaporator in said chamber, an open ended enclosure for said evaporator serving as a batfle and having means for supporting containers for liquid adjacent said evaporator, such containers being removable and insertable through said open end.

6. A refrigerator cabinet having a chamber, means for extracting heat from said chamber including an evaporator in said chamber, a removable open ended enclosure for said evaporator having shelves for supporting containers for liquid adjacent said evaporator, and means on the exterior of said enclosure for supporting shelves for said chamber.

7. A refrigerator cabinet having a chamber, refrigerating apparatus for extracting heat from said chamber including an extended evaporator member against a wall of said chamber, an open ended casing enclosing said evaporator and removably secured to said wall, said casing being spaced from said evaporator and having means for supporting containers for liquid to be frozen adjacent said evaporator.

8. A refrigerator .cabinet having a chamber, refrigerating apparatus for extracting heat fromsaid chamber including an extended evaporator member against a Wall of said chamber, an enclosure for said evaporator in the form of a casing hinged to said wall for swinging movement away from said evaporator, said casing providing means for supporting ice trays adjacent said evaporator. r

9. A refrigerator cabinet having a chamber, refrigerating apparatus for extracting heat from said chamber including an extended evaporator member against a wall of said chamber, an enclosure for said evaporator in the form of a casing hinged to said wall for swinging movement away from said evaporator, said casing providing shelves on the side adjacent said evaporator, for supporting ice trays and having supports on its opposite side for the shelves of said food chamber.

10. A refrigerator cabinet having a chamber, refrigerating apparatus for extracting heat from said chamber, an enclosure forsaid evaporator in the form of a casing'hinged to said wall for swinging movement away from said evaporator, said casing providing shelves on the side adjacent said evaporator for supporting ice tra s and having supports on. its opposite side or the shelves of said food chamber, the wall of said chamber providing a support for the lower portion of said casin 11. A refrigerator cabinet having a chamber, refrigerating apparatus for extracting heat from said chamber including an extend ed evaporator member against a wall of said chamber, an enclosure for said evaporator in the form of a casing hinged to said wall for swinging movement away from said evaporator, said casing providing supporting means on the side adjacent said evaporator for ice trays and having supports on its opposite side for the shelves of said food chamber, the

wall of said chamber beneath said eva orator having a projection engaged by sai casing for supporting the latter.

12. A refrigerator cabinet having a cham ber, refrigerating apparatus for extracting heat from said chamber including an extended evaporator member against a wall of said rator having an elongate rojection or ledge engaged by said casing or supporting the latter.

Signed by me at Detroit, county of Wayne, and State of Michigan this 27th day of April,

RANSOM W. DAVENPORT. 

